566 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 Sept., 1917. 



ANOTHER GOOD DAIRY FARM. 



E. J. Turner, Dairy Supervisor. 



From the number of men who are .still to be found keeping dairy 

 cows without any method or system in the management of their stock, 

 it is evident that there is a lot of persistent work yet to be done to wake 

 them up to the possibilities of their nccupatiou. There are, however, 

 a number who may be classed as thoroughly up-to-date dairy farmers, 

 who are making every endeavour to get the best results from their 

 work, and whose farms may well be held up as examples of what others 

 might just as easily attain. 



One such as this is the " Cresslea " farm, on Tarwin Lower, which 

 is situated about 6 miles from the Buffalo railway station, and is owned 

 and managed by Mr. A. T. Warren. 



This farm has an area of 320 acres, and has been in the possession 

 of the present ovmer for about four years. The land is mainly river 

 flats, sown down in the rough with rye grass and strawberry clover, 

 and is flooded at times during the winter and early spring. A consider- 

 able amount of work has been done by Mr. Warren since purchasing 

 the property by clearing out tea-tree and tussocks, which has greatly 

 increased the carrying capacity of the land. 



The farm is subdivided into seven paddocks, four of which, contain- 

 ing 190 acres, are u.sed for the dairy herd, and the remaining 130 acres 

 are occupied by the dry cows and young cattle. The dairy herd usually 

 runs to about 75 head of milking cows and two pure Jersey bulls, 

 together with about 70 head of young stock, as about 30 or more heifer 

 calves are reared from the best cows each year. There are also about 

 50 pigs kept on the place, and seven horses are used to carry on the 

 farm work. The dairy cows are nearly all Jerseys, and Mr. Warren has 

 culled his stock until he has built up a very satisfactory herd for the 

 production of butter. The average butter fat test for the whole herd 

 for the year works out at 4.6, which means that the milk from this 

 f.arm is more than 25 per cent, richer in butter fat than is required by 

 the Board of Health standard, and shows what can be obtained by 

 careful breeding and selection. 



As the farmer has to find for each cow sufficient fodder to enable 

 her to milk to her full capacity, it is not a wise policy to keep cows 

 that will give only 3.5 per cent, of butter fat when a very much better 

 return could be obtained without increase in the labour or cost of 

 production. Still, there are hundreds of farmers turning the separator 

 for 3s. per 10 gallons of milk when they might be getting 4s. from the 

 same quantity. These are the men who know too much to learn 

 anything more about dairying. 



The cows on the farm are all dehorned, and this makes for greater 

 docility in the herd, both in the yards and milking shed, and eliminates 

 the possibility of udders being injured through horn wounds, which 

 cause a considerable loss yearly among horned cattle. 



Another point noted which tends to the quiet contentment of this 

 herd is that no dogs are used in the paddocks or yards. Driving milch 

 cows with cattle dogs is very prevalent on many dairy farms in this 

 district, and it is a practice that makes cows restive and cross-tempered 

 in the bails, which is not conducive to an even flow of milk. 



